1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a brake system for a wheeled article and more specifically to a brake system or personal wheeled article such as an inline skate or the like. The brake system of the present invention has particular applicability to being mechanically or electronically actuated and/or remotely controlled.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of braking methods and systems have been developed for inline skates. Hand operated brakes such as those exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,238, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,276 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,207 utilize a cable between a hand-held brake and actuator and a brake device mounted to one or both of the skates. Other hand operated brakes such as those exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,930 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,131 utilize a hydraulic conduit or line extending from a hand actuator to a brake on the skate. Although hand operated brakes function satisfactorily, they are not widely used.
Foot mounted brakes typically rely on one or more of several techniques for applying the brake force. One system involves use of various types of skid pads located at the toe or heel of the skate which are simply dragged on the skating surface. A second system involves utilizing an auxiliary wheel or roller which makes contact with a brake pad or a braking surface. A third technique involves forcing a braking surface against one or more of the load bearing wheels.
Various brake systems also exist which exert spring or hydraulic force against the wheels. Examples include those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,468, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,276 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,974.
Although a wide variety of inline brake systems and techniques currently exist for personal wheeled articles such as inline skates, there is a continuing need for an improved brake system. Further, there is a need for an improved brake system with improved control, which can brake one or more wheels of an inline brake simultaneously and which has particular applicability to being mechanically or electronically actuated and/or remotely controlled.
The present invention relates to an improved brake system for a personal wheeled article and in particular a skate product such as an inline skate. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved brake system which is capable of simultaneously braking one or more wheels of such article or inline skate and which has particular applicability to being mechanically or electronically actuated and/or remotely controlled.
More specifically, the brake system of the present invention is designed for use with an inline skate and includes a wheel support frame and one or more brake elements carried by the wheel support frame. Each brake element has a brake surface and is moveable relative to the frame between a brake position in which such brake surface engages a portion of the inline skate wheel and a non-brake position in which such brake surface is disengaged from the inline skate wheel. The brake element is caused to move between its brake and non-brake positions by an actuation member or bar in response to corresponding movement of an actuator.
In the preferred embodiment, the brake elements comprise a pair of pivotable callipers which are associated with each of the wheels of an inline skate. The callipers are twin callipers which include arm portions with brake pads defining a brake surface near their distal ends for engaging a brake surface on the wheel. An opposite end of the callipers includes a cam follower for engagement with a cam surface in the actuator member. The actuator member is in the form of an elongated actuator bar and is common to each of the callipers. Thus, movement of the actuator bar results in corresponding braking or non-braking movement of the callipers, in unison. In the preferred embodiment, the movement of the actuator bar and thus the callipers is driven by an electric, battery-driven solenoid which is in turn remotely controlled by the user.
The brake system of the present invention also preferably uses a single twin calliper to brake more than one wheel. This reduces the weight and complexity of the brake system, while at the same time providing improved braking force.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved brake system for a personal wheeled article.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a brake system for an inline skate.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an inline skate braking system for individually braking multiple wheels of the inline skate.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a brake system for an inline skate which is particularly applicable to being remotely controlled.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a brake system for an inline skate embodying an improved structure for simultaneously braking two or more wheels of the skate. These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent with reference to the drawings, the description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims.